Egyptian Constitution 7/12/12

Brooke Kennedy
Carter Glass
American History; B block
7 December 2012

Egyptian Constitution

Bibliography:

"A Better Egyptian Constitution - By H.A. Hellyer | The Middle East Channel." The Middle East Channel | FOREIGN POLICY. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2012. <http://mideast.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/12/06/a_better_egyptian_constitution>.

Summary:

Violence on the front of the president's palace in Egypt occurred Wednesday (12/05/2012) because of the constitutional draft which resulted in 6 deaths. The constitution is said to be silent, too vague, and all around problematic. The biggest problem with the draft is the process of how it was created. The referendum is scheduled for the end of next week but most of the Egyptians wont understand what is in the draft.

Analysis:

After reading this article I have many questions about Egypt and where they are going as a country. With the constitution the way that it is now and with the president that they have, what exactly are the options for the people of Egypt? Do they have any options at all? With the current president what does the future look like for the Egyptian people and their country? What would be best for Egypt right now?

Vocab:

Abysmal- extremely bad; appalling

Referendum- a general vote by the electorate on a single political question that has been referred to them for a direct decision.

Brooke Kennedy
Carter Glass
Division 3 History - Block B
11/30/2012

Gaza Strip Conflict

Bibliography:

  "Highlights: the first week of Israel's Gaza offensive." bikyamasr. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2012. <http://www.bikyamasr.com/81320/highlights-the-first-week-of-israels-gaza-offensive/>.
   National Geographic Magazine. National Geographic Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2012. <http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/>.
   Photographer, the. "The Tunnels of Gaza - Pictures, More From National Geographic Magazine." National Geographic Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2012. <http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/12/gaza-tunnels/verini-text>.

Summary: 
          People that have died in the tunnels are now the heros for Gaza and are honored for it. The Rafah underground has been on going since 1982 which happened because there was a split in the city after the 1979 Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty and it was left in Gaza and Egypt. The tunnels used to be dug from basements of people's homes until the Israeli military started destroying homes that had tunnels. The tunnels are a space where the government can put materials for their public work projects. Hamas taxes everything that comes into the tunnels and not allow people through who do not pay. With that Hamas gets about $750 million a year from the tunnels.
          In recent weeks, Israeli airstrikes hit over 20 targets in Gaza which resulted in a large number of casualties and 7 deaths. 148 Palestinians died after the first week of airstrikes,about half of them were civilians which included women and children as well. The injuries have exceeded a thousand with a shortage of critical medical supplies and medicines. Israeli casualties only reached five fatalities; one soldier and four civilians. Israeli forces arrested and injured hundreds of Gaza protestors.

Analysis/Response:
          Demonstrations against Israel took place in Egypt, Kuwait, Bahrain, Yemen, New York City, Dallas, London and other places. Barack Obama is not in favor of a ground invasion into Gaza but he still supports Israel and how they want to defend against Hamas. The United Kingdom would not support a ground invasion into Gaza.
Vocab:
         Cease-fire: a temporary suspension of fighting, typically one during which peace talks take place; a truce.

Presidential Debate

Brooke Kennedy

Carter Glass

American History; B block

4 October 2012

Presidential Debate in Denver, 10/4

This presidential debate was on domestic issues. There were 6 sections that were meant to last 15 minutes each. At the beginning of each section each candidate is asked the same question and given 2 minutes to answer it while the remaining time in each section is a discussion of the topic. The sections were three on the economy, and one each on health care, the role of government, and governing.

Economy:

Jobs-

Obama: we have got to invest in education and training, important to develop new sources of energy,      change tax codes to make sure that we are helping small businesses. Hiring 100,000 new math and science teachers, create 2 million more jobs in community colleges, while also keeping the tuition low all to help our education system.

Romney: His 5 basic parts plan: 1. energy independent 2. open up more trade especially in latin america, 3. make sure our people have the skills they need to succeed, best schools in the world  4. get to a balanced budget 5. champion small business.

What is the definition of a small business?

Federal Debt:

Romeny: Lower spending and encourage economic growth at the same time. things to cut from spending are by eliminating any programs that don't pass a certain test. Including eliminating Obama care, and stopping the subsidy* to PBS. Stop borrowing money from China to pay for things. Send programs better run at a state level to the states.

Obama: Asking those who are doing well in this country to contribute a little bit more. Some revenue** and spending cuts. Not give tax breaks to companies that are shipping jobs overseas.

*a sum of money granted by the government or a public body to assist an industry or business so that the price of a commodity or service may remain low or competitive

**income, esp. when of a company or organization and of a substantial nature

Entitlements:

Obama: Cutting 716 billion from medicare that will affect people in the future. 

Romney: Supports no change for current retirees and new retirees to medicare. Medicare for young people, give then the choice of either the current medicare program or a different private plan. They will have at least two plans set for them with no addition charge. The benefits have to be high for those who are low income and lower some of the benefits for higher income and a long term program. Regulations are essential.

What is a voucher system?

Health Care:

Romney: Obama care adds more money for insurance and cuts 716 billion dollars from medicare. Wants to make it so each state makes a plan for themselves based on the individual state needs. Alternative for Obamacare would do the following; preexisting conditions will be covered on the new plan and young people are able to stay on their family plan.

Obama: A group plan is being set up if you don't have insurance. Must be a bipartisan idea and plan, which Obama car is. Get doctors and health care experts to find a way to reduce the coast of care in the system as a whole. 

In what ways is Romney's plan better then Obama care?

Role of government:

Obama: Main goal is to keep the American people safe while also creating opportunity for people to succeed. Reform schools that are not working; Race to the Top. Government has the ability to get more teachers that will educate more people which will create a better workforce and create more jobs.

Romney: Does not believe in cutting the military. He wants to maintain the strength that our military has. We must also maintain our religious tolerance and freedom. Wants federal money to follow the child in need to the school of their choice instead of the money going to a school they are forced to go to.

"Presidential Debate 2012 (Complete) Romney vs.Obama  - 10/3/2012 - Elections 2012 - YouTube." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Oct. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkrwUU_YApE>.

Elections: Improving the Voting System

I read an article by the New York Times that explains many of the major flaws in our voting system today.

Recently there have been fights in Pennsylvania about voter identification requirements and if the point of them is to stop fraud or simply to keep the minority and the poor from being able to vote. In New York, a new design of the ballots that has been thought of as very confusing and hard to understand has now been passed to be used in this years election. In Florida, 140,000 voters were registered in four other states as well as Florida. 60,000 of them were also registered in North and South Carolina. Possible changes that could help are impartial election administration, better voter list maintenance, uniform photo ID requirements and paper trails for electronic voting machines. Voting registration rules used to exclude immigrant or blacks from voting. The registration rules can make the difference between a victory and a defeat when the election is close. Because of technical mistakes on the forms or the envelopes there were 400,000 ballots rejected in the 2008 and 2012 general elections combined.

Vocabulary: Bipartisan: of or involving the agreement or cooperation of two political parties that usually oppose each other's policies.

While reading this article I realized that there are many simple solutions to these problem that will make the election more accurate. I believe that every citizen of the United States should have the right to vote. Minority and the poor should still be able to register to vote. The forms for the ballot should be clear, easy to read, and easy to understand. Everyone should be able to access information that explains the ballot so that no one will be confused and have questions when they are filling out the ballot. That obviously wouldn't solve all of the problems but 400,000 people is too big of a number that could and should be reduced.  

"Voter ID Issue Is One of Many for U.S. Voting Systems - NYTimes.com." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/01/us/voting-systems-plagues-go-far-beyond-identification.html>.

9/21/12

Elections: Immigration & Health Care

Immigration:

I read an ABC News article comparing Obama and Romney's ideas on immigration. It explained in detail about deportation, dream act, border fence, Arizona's immigration law, and English as the official language.

1. Deportation: Romeney says self-deportation is the best way. By self deportation he means that sooner or later the immigrants will realize it is better to leave this country and return home because they do not have the proper documentation to make a living in the U.S. He also supports an E-Verify system that forces employers to check the legal status of their employees before hiring them. Obama says it isn't right to "expel talented young people". Instead of deporting young immigrants Obama said he would give them a two-year work permit. The Obama administration will not deport anyone who came here before they were 16 and are currently under 30, been in the country for five strait years, have a high school diploma or in school currently, a GED or have served in the military.
2. Dream Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors): Obama agrees with the Dream Act and would sign it as soon as possible. It would give undocumented immigrants a way of citizenship if they attended college or serve in the military. Romney however would veto the Dream Act.
3. Border Fence: Obama will not add to the fence, it is "complete". It only covers 649 miles of the 1,900-mile border. Romney says that a fence must be built and cover the entire border including a second layer making it more difficult to get through.
4. Arizona's Immigration Law: Obama says he is pleased with how the Supreme Court is handling Arizona's Law to "show me your papers". Romney hasn't said that he supports Arizona's Law but he did say that the right thing to do is drop the lawsuits against Arizona.
5. English as the Official Language: Romney supports making English the official laguage, making all official documents such as drivers licenses all English as well. Obama disagrees, if a spanish speaking citizen is trying to learn English here they should not be deported because their main language is Spanish.

While reading this article I found that although I understood why Obama said and chose what he did, I agreed with almost all of Romney's ideas and choices more then Obama's when it comes to immigration.

Health Care:
For Mitt Romney I read an article by The Washington Post about how Mitt Romney's health care plans don't exclude seniors. His overall plan wouldn't cover anyone over the age of 55. He plans to revoke the Affordable Care Act and cut Medicaid funding. In doing so that would mean higher Medicare premiums, and wellness visits as well as prescription drugs would coast more. It would cut $716 billion in Medicare spending.
For Barack Obama I read an article from the Huff Post about his health care and how it affects 6 million Americans because they will face a tax penalty for not having insurance. The average penalty in 2016 would be about $1,200, raising $6.9 billion. In 2014 every legal citizen of the U.S. will face a tax penalty if they do not have health insurance. However, there are exceptions. If there is a financial hardship, religious objection, or other circumstances they will not be faced with a tax penalty. The law will provide government aid to help middle and lower-class afford the coverage.

I strongly disagree with Romney that a good solution is to cut back on the support for seniors. I believe that if anything there should be more support for those seniors who need it. On the other hand I do not agree that forcing every person to have health insurance is exactly the right thing to do. However I do understand some of the reasoning behind the law. I do not believe that either of these ideas are reasonable solutions.

Bibliography

ALONSO-ZALDIVAR, RICARDO. "Obama Health Care Law Tax Penalty Will Hit 6 Million Uninsured: CBO." Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2012. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/19/obamacare-cbo-report_n_1898370.html?view=print&comm_ref=false>.

"On Immigration, Obama and Romney Agree On Virtually Nothing - ABC News." ABCNews.com  - Breaking News, Latest News & Top Video News - ABC News. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2012. <http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/immigration-obama-romney-agree-virtually/story?id=17273505#.UFslshy9JCc>.

"Romney health plans would affect seniors’ care, studies find - The Washington Post." Washington Post: Breaking News, World, US, DC News & Analysis. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2012. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/romney-health-plans-would-affect-seniors-care-studies-find/2012/09/16/73202530-fb88-11e1-8adc-499661afe377_print.html>.